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First off – thanks to all of my wonderful blog friends who sent emails and posted happy birthday wishes on Facebook yesterday. You guys are so awesome! ❤

We didn’t have too much planned this year, probably because mid-week birthdays don’t lend themselves to a lot of fuss and muss. That, and you get to an age where birthdays are really NBD. But still, it’s nice when someone you love does something a little special on your birthday, right?

So yesterday I was at work, drowning myself in spreadsheets and status updates, when I got called that someone sent me flowers. Who doesn’t love flowers at work!?

I didn’t have my camera at work, so this was taken with my tablet. Two dozen beautiful, sweet-smelling roses to brighten up my cubicle. It also came with a fluffy bear (un-pictured) which is funny because my *ahem* secret flower gifter knows I’m pretty much past the random stuffed animal phase in my life. Now I have two little bears in my cube keeping each other company alongside the “Friends” book about caring and sharing that also was included in the bouquet. We had a pretty good laugh about it too. If you’re sending someone two dozen long-stemmed roses, why would you send them a book about how nice it is to have friends? Random?

I said it was a secret admirer gifter because someone forgot to put their name on the card. ❤

The day was low-key with the regular work meetings and such. I got home and waited for Ben and then he took me out for dinner. I wanted to go back to the Machine Shed in Appleton to try the brisket.

We had a really sweet waitress whose birthday is coming up on Saturday. Ironically, a family of 4 sat close to us and the little girl was celebrating her 6th birthday as well. We had a laugh and I said I wasn’t 6 – I was just 16. (I wish!)

We placed our orders and then got our basket of fix’ins: coleslaw, cottage cheese, and a bread basket with fluffy rolls and applesauce sweet bread.

Ben always goes nuts over their bread, which is hilarious because most of the time we go out he tends to avoid the bread.

I ordered the BBQ beef brisket. Total home-style meal with mashed potatoes and baked beans:

Ben went with the sirloin tips on a bed of stuffing:

Ben’s meal wasn’t one he’d repeat. My brisket was excellent but I only sampled the beans and ate half of the potatoes.

The birthday girl got free dessert though and I gleefully rubbed my hands together at the gigantic brownie sundae in front of me. You can’t beat fresh and chewy brownies with ice cream and ample whipped cream with caramel and fudge drizzle.

Considering how full I was, this would have been more than enough to share, but Ben spotted the warm apple dumpling on the menu and wanted to try that too. One of the best things about having a fiancé has got to be having someone to swap bites of food so you get to try twice as many things. Luckily we both like the same kinds of food.

That dumpling was pretty magnificent!

So here we are, just over 3 weeks before the wedding. I flipped my calendar a couple times and BOOM – there it is. I admit, I’m still getting that bit of anxiety when I think about how close it is. It’s been surprisingly challenging planning because certain family members of ours have had specific ideas about what they want – which don’t often (ok ever) align with what we want. It’s hard planning a supposed “dream day” when you’re wondering/anxious if you’ll be getting flack or passive comments on the choices you make. It’s a good thing I’m not a wedding planner!! 🙂

So here I am, another year older but not necessarily wiser. All I know is I am blessed with love, family, and good friends. What more can you ask for?